Topic supervised non-negative matrix factorization

Topic models have been extensively used to organize and interpret the contents of large, unstructured corpora of text documents. Although topic models often perform well on traditional training vs. test set evaluations, it is often the case that the results of a topic model do not align with human interpretation. This interpretability fallacy is largely due to the unsupervised nature of topic models, which prohibits any user guidance on the results of a model. In this paper, we introduce a semi-supervised method called topic supervised non-negative matrix factorization (TS-NMF) that enables the user to provide labeled example documents to promote the discovery of more meaningful semantic structure of a corpus. In this way, the results of TS-NMF better match the intuition and desired labeling of the user. The core of TS-NMF relies on solving a non-convex optimization problem for which we derive an iterative algorithm that is shown to be monotonic and convergent to a local optimum. We demonstrate the practical utility of TS-NMF on the Reuters and PubMed corpora, and find that TS-NMF is especially useful for conceptual or broad topics, where topic key terms are not well understood. Although identifying an optimal latent structure for the data is not a primary objective of the proposed approach, we find that TS-NMF achieves higher weighted Jaccard similarity scores than the contemporary methods, (unsupervised) NMF and latent Dirichlet allocation, at supervision rates as low as 10% to 20%

Jefferson Digital Commons quarterly report: October-December 2018

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Jefferson Digital Commons quarterly report: July-September 2018

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Life History Characteristics of the Starry Skate, Raja stellulata, from California waters

The order Rajiformes, or skates, is a morphologically conservative group that exhibits a wide range of life history characteristics. This inter-species variability warrants species-specific research. This study investigates the age, growth, reproduction, and habitat of the Starry Skate, Raja stellulata, which is endemic to the U.S. West Coast. Age and growth parameters were determined using two preparation techniques: gross sectioning and histological sectioning. The assumption that gross sections deposit one band pair a year was indirectly validated with centrum edge analysis and marginal increment ratio. It was not indirectly validated with histological sections. Age estimates from gross sections ranged from 0 to 11 years, and growth was best described by the two parameter von Bertalanffy growth function in which L∞ = 865 mm TL and k = 0.15. Age estimates from histological sections ranged from 0 to 15 years, and growth was best described by the Gompertz function in which L∞ = 845 mm TL, g = 0.15, and k = 1.53. Histological section results are recommended for describing growth of R. stellulata because the longevity is more conservative. Raja stellulata exhibits year-round reproduction and attains 50% maturity at 632 mm TL, and 11.2 years old for females and 603 mm TL, and 11.5 years for males. Raja stellulata was collected most often on hard substrate between 70 and 150 m depth. An age/depth trend within the central California skate assemblage was found where increased habitat depth correlated with increased longevity

Barriers to Treatment and the Connection to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Individuals who are engaging in mental health counseling services are demonstrating a lack of engagement in treatment. The purpose of this research study is to demonstrate a relationship between client’s perceived barriers to mental health treatment and to human needs as identified through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943). This study was conducted through administration of a 27-item survey that consisted of a list of barriers to treatment and basic needs. The development and administration of this survey will be detailed through describing the location of the research site, recruitment process, and collection of data. A total of 22 participants completed the survey. Data analysis showed that 72.27% of participants reported at least one of their barriers to treatment being a basic need as identified by Maslow. The findings are discussed and implications for professional counseling and future research

Jefferson Digital Commons quarterly report: October-December 2017

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A simulation model evaluating costs of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) for a typical U.S. cow-calf producer and benefits of multiple test and cull strategies

Increasingly, veterinarian organizations in the United States recommend the control and eradication of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV). Cow-calf producers comprise 35% of U.S. cattle; however, research on the effects of BVDV in these herds is limited. To gain a better understanding of the pathology of BVDV in cow-calf producers, a stochastic simulation model was developed in C++ to measure epidemiological and financial outcomes. Additional simulations were run to evaluate changes in producer profit for several test and cull strategies. Introducing a PI animal decreased profit by an average of {dollar}13,971 over 10 years. When a second generation of PI animals was born, profit decreased an average of {dollar}18,738 over 10 years. Of the test and cull methods run, herds with PI animals profited the most by testing newborn calves before the start of breeding each year. When one PI animal was introduced, testing newborn calves each year before breeding increased profit by an average of {dollar}8,498 over 10 years. For producers with a low risk of PI introduction, testing retained calves after weaning when motivated by an unusually small number of calves was the least costly strategy and successfully identified 77% of simulations that introduced one PI animal in the herd